Rise of the Tomb Raider to Launch in 2016 for PS4 and PC

We've got some bad news for those wanting to play Rise of the Tomb Raider on PC and even worse news for those wanting to play it on PlayStation 4.

Kotaku reports that PC players will only have to wait a few months to play Rise of the Tomb Raider after its December 2015 release. Unfortunately, PlayStation 4 gamers aren't going to be as lucky. Based on Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' recent announcement, PlayStation 4 players are going to have to wait a full year for Lady Croft's return — ouch. Rise of the Tomb Raider marks yet another casualty of the childish tug o'war between Sony and Microsoft over which games and content will be heading to PlayStation or Xbox consoles first, such as Dragon Age: Inquisition's Jaws of Hakkon expansion, which hit the PC and Xbox One formats in March 2015 and didn't hit anywhere else until two months later, but this is much worse.

Here's what Square Enix had to say about Lara's return:

Square Enix today announced its latest title in the critically acclaimed and award-winning Tomb Raider series, Rise of the Tomb Raider, will be available for Windows 10 and Steam in early 2016. The game will be a console exclusive to Xbox One and Xbox 360 for one year after its initial launch, coming to PlayStation 4 in Holiday 2016. Renowned developer Crystal Dynamics, a Square Enix studio, is leading development in the latest entry in the iconic series for additional platforms.

Let's say someone with $400 in their pocket walks into a video game store to buy an Xbox One or a PlayStation 4, completely on the wall and 50/50 on what to get. Timed exclusives will never be the deciding factor in helping a gamer make the decision on what to buy, even in the rare circumstances I just described. Ultimately, this just hurts the fans and paints publishers (Square Enix in this case) in a negative light for taking either Sony or Microsoft's money for making their content a timed exclusive.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is expected to launch on Nov. 10 for Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The game will launch on Windows 10 and Steam in early 2016. Lastly, Rise of the Tomb Raider will launch for PlayStation 4 during the 2016 holiday season (ugh). There is still no word on its PS3 release.